SEATTLE – For the first 14 minutes inside Alaska Airlines Arena the Huskies couldn’t buy a basket on offense. Paired with more efficient shooting from the California Golden Bears, it took a late first half switch before Washington found its form.
Senior forward Dominic Green subbed in for sophomore Nahziah Carter with 6:03 remaining before halftime. Carter, who missed both of his shot attempts from the floor in the first half, missed one of two free throw attempts and had a 3-point attempt blocked before being replaced.
From there, Washington embarked on a 17-4 scoring run and kept Cal away in the second half to earn the 71-52 win and remain unbeaten in Pac-12 competition on the 2018-19 men’s basketball season.
The Huskies (14-4, 5-0) scored four 3-pointers in the final six minutes before halftime. First by senior point guard David Crisp, followed by three consecutive made shots from behind the arc by Green to erase a 10-point Cal lead.
Head coach Mike Hopkins referred to Green, who finished with a game-high 17 points on 5 of 11 shooting and 4 of 10 from behind the 3-point arc, as “one of the best snipers in the country” after the game.
“Watch him play defense, watch him talk,” Hopkins added the Huskies senior. “He’s the ultimate team guy, and to see a senior have that type of production his senior year its so much fun to watch.
“He’s all heart and soul. He’s all team. And we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in this year, or have the year we had last year, with Dominic Green”
UW held Cal to just 6 of 22 from the floor in the second half and 18 of 59 shooting on the afternoon. Most important for Hopkins, however, the Huskies held the Cal to just one made 3-pointer on 15 attempts from behind the arc.
Four other players finished in double figures for UW. Senior forward Noah Dickerson scored 12 points, all but two coming from the charity stripe, with fellow senior Matisse Thybulle and Crisp adding 13 and 12 points respectively.
Sophomore guard Jaylen Nowell finished with 11 points on 4 of 10 shooting, scoring one of 10 made 3-pointers for UW to earn its 1,000 win at Alaska Airlines Arena. With a perfect home record this season the Huskies embark on a crucial road trip next week at Oregon and Oregon State.
After the victory over Stanford on Thursday, Hopkins asserted that defense travels and that will be the key to UW maintaining perfect record in conference. However, one other stat could prove to make or break the road trip.
“I’m confident with the way our bench play has been defensively, too,” Hopkins said. “Dom Green comes in and could be one of our best forwards.”
Hopkins also highlighted Carter and freshman Jamal Bey, who played almost nine minutes and ended the game with an 11 plus-minus, fifth best on the team. Bey did not take a shot attempt, but he did record three steals and one assist.
The team is still expected to remain without another freshman, Bryan Penn-Johnson. The 7-foot center has missed the last month and a half recovering from a foot injury. Hopkins said at the start of last December that Penn-Johnson would miss six weeks.
After the win Saturday, Hopkins told TheDawgReport.com there is no definitive timetable for when Penn-Johnson will return. The UW head coach said he doesn’t want to rush his return and that he will talk with the team doctors before any decision is made.
